The Los Angeles Clippers have wasted no time in inking Blake Griffin after taking him number one overall in the 2009 NBA Draft. His contract is expected to pay him more than $4.2 million next season.

Griffin was the easiest pick in the draft. With the Oklahoma Sooners, Griffin was hands down the best player in college basketball. He averaged 22.7 points, 14.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists last season as a sophomore. He also shot 65.4% from the field and blocked 1.2 shots in 33.3 minutes per game.

With the Clippers, expect Griffin to play at power forward. While it may take some time for his offensive numbers to come around, he should be a very good rebounder right away for L.A.

The Clippers made room for Griffin’s spot in the starting lineup earlier in the offseason when they traded Zach Randolph to the Memphis Grizzlies. Other bigmen on the Los Angeles’ roster include veterans Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman.

While few are expecting the Clippers to make noise in the 2009-2010 NBA season, there’s definitely a chance for the team to surprise as long as Griffin is as good as billed.

Blake Griffin - Los Angeles Clippers (Image: Zuma Press)

The Toronto Raptors and Dallas Mavericks were recently working on a trade but they needed to find a third team to make the salary aspect work. On Wednesday, the Raptors and Mavs found that team — the Memphis Grizzlies.

According to multiple reports, the Dallas Mavericks will receive Shawn Marion, Kris Humphries and Greg Buckner in the deal. As part of the trade, Marion will receive a five-year deal worth almost $40 million.

The Grizzlies will reported receive Jerry Stackhouse, Quincy Douby and approximately $2 million. The Raptors are said to be getting Antoine Wright and Devean George.

Marion is far and away the biggest name in this trade. In Dallas, Marion will likely play small forward in a starting lineup that will feature Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard and Marcin Gortat.

With the other teams in the Western Conference stacking up with talent, the Mavs have now remained in the mix by re-signing Kidd, signing Gortat and trading for Marion.

Shawn Marion Traded to the Dallas Mavericks (Image: Zuma Press)

According to ESPN, Mike Krzyzewski (a.k.a. Coach K) will return as the head coach of the U.S. men’s basketball team for the 2012 Olympics. He will also  remain as coach of the national team at the 2010 world championship in Turkey.

First reported by The Boston Globe, USA basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo convinced Coach K  to stay in the job after he led the U.S.A. to the gold medal in Beijing last summer.

“With the success that we had, I would do everything in my power to keep everything intact,” Colangelo told The Associated Press without confirming the decision.

Aside from his busy coaching schedule for Duke University, Coach K also travels frequently around the country giving speeches on leadership and holding success-based workshops for many companies. After looking at his basketball resume, it’s quite obvious he knows a thing or two about being a leader.

The Detroit Pistons have gone after a couple of big names to fill their head coaching void after firing Michael Curry. Both Doug Collins and Avery Johnson reportedly considered the job. However, the Pistons have decided to go with someone who is unknown to most basketball fans — John Kuester.

After Pistons President Joe Dumars and Johnson couldn’t agree on a contract or a focus of the organization, Dumars quickly moved to hire Kuester. According to multiple reports, Kuester will receive a two-year contract with a team option for a third season.

Last season, Kuester was regarded as the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Considering that the Cavs won 66 games and their offense appeared to be much improved, Kuester did a fine job.

With the Pistons, he will likely continue to focus on offense. During the offseason, the Pistons signed Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva — two offensive players.

John Kuester - Pistons Head Coach (Image: Zuma Press)

After being traded to his fourth team in three years, Shannon Brown may have finally found a home. The Charlotte Bobcats traded him and Adam Morrison to the Los Angeles Lakers halfway through the 2009 season, but this time he may actually stay with the team.

Brown stepped up the 2009 NBA playoffs and made significant contributions off the bench while Morrison continued to ride the pine.

Shannon Brown agrees to a two-year deal with the Lakers.

Phil Jackson certainly had confidence in Brown’s play. And the Lakers‘ owner took notice. As a result, Brown will receive a two-year, $4.2 million contract with the second season at his option. If he wants to build a permanent home in L.A., he’ll have the opportunity to do so. I’m sure he’s sick of bouncing from team to team. And settling in with the NBA Champs shouldn’t be too hard.

Image: Zuma

The Los Angeles Lakers acquired Shannon Brown in the middle of the 2008-09 NBA season. He was expected to produce but his energetic play and toughness soon made him a Phil Jackson favorite. On Monday, the Lakers rewarded the free agent with a two-year deal worth slightly more than $4 million.

Shannon Brown - Los Angeles Lakers (Image: Zuma Press)

The deal, which was reported by ESPN.com, will provide guard depth for Los Angeles. With Derek Fisher aging and Jordan Farmar still looking for his niche in the NBA, Brown is a low-risk insurance policy that can pay off big.

In the 2009 NBA playoffs, Brown averaged 4.9 points and 1.2 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game. He shot 43.4% from the field and 48% from the three-point line. For his career, he is averaging 4.2 points in 10 minutes per game over the course of 92 regular season games.

Brown was originally drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers and has also played with the Chicago Bulls and the Charlotte Bobcats.

Rasheed Wallace has picked where he wants to spend the next two years. While turning down interest from the San Antonio Spurs and the Orlando Magic, Wallace has agreed to sign with the Boston Celtics. He’s expected to get a two-year contract worth approximately $12 million.

Rasheed Wallace to the Boston Celtics (Image: Zuma Press)

With the Celtics, Wallace will likely come off the bench behind the frontline of Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins. He provides Boston with yet another veteran with championship experience who plays well in the playoffs to go along with Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.

Last year with the Detroit Pistons, Wallace averaged 12 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 32 minutes per game. Wallace joined the Pistons in 2004 and helped the team win the 2004 NBA championship.

On the first day of free agency, the Celtics sent a group to meet with Wallace and his wife. They wooed him to join the Celtics.

On Sunday, that wooing paid off.

Yesterday, Hedo Turkoglu told the Trail Blazers that he was going to sign with Portland. But as the hours went on, Turkoglu apparently had a change of heart. Turkoglu isn’t headed to Portland after all — he’s headed to Toronto to play with the Raptors.

Although the Raptors can pay him a little bit more — reportedly about $53 million instead of $50 million — it sounds like the city of Toronto was the main selling point. Turkoglu and his wife reportedly like Toronto’s international flavor and that was the turning point.

For the Blazers this is obviously bad news. Turkoglu would have fit perfectly at the small forward position. Next to Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden, Turkoglu would have made the Blazers a championship contender. Now with Turkoglu off the board, they’ll probably turn their attention to someone like David Lee of the New York Knicks or Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers.

With the Raptors, Turkoglu will join Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon. That foursome should be enough to make a major push for the playoffs.

Hedo Turkoglu Raptors (Image: Zuma Press)

The Portland Trail Blazers headed into free agency looking to make a big splash and it sounds like they landed their man — former Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu. According to numerous reports, Turkoglu has verbally agreed to sign with the Blazers for approximately $50 million over five seasons.

Last year with the Magic, Turkoglu averaged 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists during the regular season. In the postseason, the native of Turkey was instrumental in leading the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals.

With the Blazers, Turkoglu will play small forward next to Brandon Roy at shooting guard, LaMarcus Aldridge at power forward and Greg Oden at center. The 6-foot-10 Turkoglu gives the team a playmaker with size who has a knack of coming up clutch in important moments.

The Magic have already made plans for life after Turkoglu. On draft day, Orlando traded for Vince Carter of the New Jersey Nets and waived goodbye to Turkoglu.

On Friday, the Blazers are more than happy to welcome Hedo Turkoglu on board.

Hedo Turkoglu Leaves Orlando to Join Portland (Image: Zuma Press)

The night was going well for WNBA all-star Diana Taurasi. She had just led the Phoenix Mercury to an impressive 93-81 win over the Seattle Storm with 22 points and four blocked shots.

Diana Taurasi was pulled over for driving under the influence after a key win again the Seattle Storm.

Yet, the celebration quickly turned sour when Taurasi was pulled over by a cop in the wee hours of the morning. According to ESPN.com, the officer who pulled her over smelled alcohol and gave Taurasi several field sobriety tests. She was then escorted to a mobile DUI van where she gave a sample of blood.

Though her blood alcohol content is unknown, Taurasi was cited for a DUI. The Mercury were immediately informed of the incident though they have yet to issue a statement.

Image: Zuma Press